Ashbel Family
---- |color = Red |name = Ashbel Family |kanji = アッシュベル家族 |romaji = AsshuberuKazoku |leader = Nora Ashbel (Heir) Clan Elders (Until Nora is ready) |location = Ashborne, Fiore |status = Active }} The Ashbel Family (アッシュベル家族, AsshuberuKazoku), also known widely by the Fioren underground as the "dogs" of the Fioren Monarchy, are a Samurai clan known for producing powerful warriors. While they are indeed a highly influential noble family, little is actually known about them by the public as the family lives in complete isolation in the small village of Ashborne located northwest of Fiore's capital city of Crocus where they are the village's only residents. The Ashbels earned the moniker of "dogs" not only because of their family's association with wolves, easily seen on their family crest, but because of their unwavering loyalty to the Fioren monarchy, carrying out orders without question. The family is tasked with regulating Fiore's criminal underground, seeing to it that no criminal organization grows too powerful while at the same time keeping them from dwindling away completely. The Asbhel family is also tasked with handling the Fioren government's dirty work, members often being tasked with small covert operations requiring the utmost stealth. The Ashbel family is highly regarded by the Fioren monarchy for their excellent skill in the art assassination, leaving no trace of their existence upon completion of their missions. The large majority of their wealth coming directly from the monarchy itself, being paid quite handsomely to keep quiet about the work they do. Being that the Ashbel family is also tasked with regulating Fiore's criminal underground, it is not uncommon for its members to come upon great deals of information that can be traded amongst the other noble families, for a price of course. The Ashbel family is also well known for their advancement in Fire Magic, members being born with and utilizing at least one form of it. History Residence Purpose The Ashbel family is tasked with regulating Fiore's criminal underground, keeping criminal organizations from growing too large or powerful while also seeing to it that their presence remains constant, never disappearing completely less it upset the delicate balance of Fiore's two worlds. The Ashbel family is also known as by criminal organizations as the Fioren monarchy's "dogs" following their orders without question. The Ashbel family is highly regarded by the Fioren monarchy for their skill in the are of assassination, often being tasked taking care of the Fioren monarchy's dirty work. They are a fire keeping the dark at bay while still allowing the shadows to remain. Code of Honor The Ashbel family's code of honor is fairly simple, consisting of three rules that all members of the family are expected to uphold. *One must never compromise the safety or honor of their clan. *One must never bring the light into the darkness. *One must be at peace with death. Both that of their opponent's, and their own. The first is quite simple, never do anything that might bring harm to the clan. This includes divulging clan secrets, reckless behavior both within the compound or out on missions. This includes a variety of things that can be as little as getting drunk and making a fool of oneself in public, disgracing the Ashbel name, to things such as someone attempting to take on a team operation by themselves. Such an action most likely would result in the failure of said mission, putting ones own comrades at risk. The second deals with the fact that the majority of activities the Ashbel family partakes in involves the Fioren underground. The underground being considered the dark, home to criminals of all kinds while the above ground, all that seen by the public, is considered the light. It is up to an Ashbel to make sure that these two world never intertwine due to their own actions. One must never bring a citizen of the light into the darkness no matter the reason. The third and final deals with the Ashbel's personal philosophy. The Ashbel family believes that the fear of death is a sin. They believe that this fear causes hesitation during combat, which often results in costing many more lives than it saves. It is because of this philosophy that the members of the Ashbel family are taught from a young age to be at peace with death, to embrace it as a warrior, to become it. They are taught not to fear taking the lives of their opponents, the final test of this trait being the Ashbel's coming of age tournament. Customs Heir Selection Annual Right of Passage Tournament Every year in the spring, the Ashbel's hold a tournament in which all those in the lower branches of the family who reached the age of seventeen the previous year will be placed against one an other in several one on one death matches to see if they have reached the necessary requirements to be considered a fully grown warrior of the Ashbel family. These battles are often brutal, continuing on until one of the two competitors is dead. Competitors are judge based on their swordsmanship and utilization of the skills they had been learning since their early childhood. At the end of the tournament only five men and five women will be left out of however many had entered, these individuals will be considered ready to take on the full responsibility of being an Ashbel, being able to choose their occupation within the family as well as also being able to partake in missions. Being that this tournament is a right of passage into adulthood, those who partake and survive to see it to the end will also be considered available for marriage. All members of the lower branches of the family must partake in this tournament upon turning seventeen, refusing to do so is considered treason and will result in execution of the traitor. While this custom may seem cruel from the viewpoint of an outsider, it is a tradition the Ashbel family has partaken in for several centuries, being used to root out the weak in hope of keeping their bloodline strong. The tournament also serves as a way to see how their warriors react to real combat, sparring and a true battle to the death being completely different from one another. Those who partake know that they may die, the point of the tournament being to see how well they respond to that pressure. The main family knowing that if they were to crack under said pressure out in the field, it would cost far more lives than their own. Despite the cruelty and brutality of the tournament, most members of the family are normally quite excited to participate, their pride and honor as warriors driving them to want to test their skill in real combat. Those who exhibit the greatest level of skill amongst the survivors often being rewarded greatly. Ashborne Annual Festival Members Ashbel Family Traits and Abilities Genetic Abilities The Ashbel Family possesses a genetic ability passed down through their bloodline for generations. This genetic ability is an enhanced fight or flight response. Due to this enhanced fight or flight response, an Ashbel's magic actively seeks to heal them whenever injured. This ability is automatically activated upon a member of the Ashbel family receiving an injury, a dim flame will appear over the wound until the wound is fully healed. Small cuts and bruises heal nearly instantly, larger wounds requiring more time and drains the user's magical energy far quicker. Severe damage to the brain, spine, or heart is unaffected by this ability as are most other mortal wounds. This ability can also be channeled through their flames, allowing them to heal allies. This enhanced fight of flight response also effects an Ashbel's reflexes, heightening them to twice that of a regular human in combat and allowing them quickly notice and react to changes in their environment. Combat Practices Trivia *If anyone wishes to create a character for this family please do not hesitate to ask on my Talk page. Category:Noble Families Category:Faction